In 1956 the biomedical world was surprised to hear a report that human cells each contained forty six chromosomes, rather than the forty eight count that had been documented since the 1920s. Application of available techniques to culture human cells in vitro, halt their division at metaphase, and disperse chromosomes in an optical plane permitted perception of visual images not seen before. Researchers continued to obtain the preconceived forty eight counts until reeducation with these novel epistemic 'chromosomes' convinced them that they could confidently report forty six chromosomes per cell. Within only a few years, and virtually without dissent, the social community of human cytogeneticists agreed upon a shared visual culture of human chromosome count and morphology. The initial forty six count proved not to be an anomaly. A new comparison of historical and ethnomethodological studies has suggested a better understanding of how applied technologies coupled with altered human perceptions established a new science. Human cytogenetics then collaborated with medical genetics to correlate changes in the new human karyotype with disorders of clinical significance.

中文翻译：

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1960 年之前的人类染色体计数：先入之见、认知和偏好

1956 年，生物医学界听到一份报告称，每个人类细胞都含有 46 条染色体，而不是 1920 年代以来记录的 48 条染色体，这让生物医学界感到惊讶。应用现有技术在体外培养人类细胞，在中期停止分裂，并将染色体分散在光学平面中，允许感知以前从未见过的视觉图像。研究人员继续获得先入为主的 48 条计数，直到对这些新的认知“染色体”进行再教育，使他们确信他们可以自信地报告每个细胞有 46 条染色体。在短短几年内，几乎没有异议，人类细胞遗传学家的社会团体就人类染色体计数和形态学的共同视觉文化达成了一致。最初的四十六计数证明不是异常。历史和民族方法学研究的新比较表明，可以更好地理解应用技术与改变的人类观念相结合如何建立一门新科学。然后人类细胞遗传学与医学遗传学合作，将新人类核型的变化与具有临床意义的疾病联系起来。